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BMW X3 xDrive28i to Get N20 Motor this April with Deliveries Beginning in May!

BMW continues to update their model line-up and has announced some changes to the X3 including a switch over to the N20 motor in the xDrive28i starting production in April 2012. The N20 replaced the nominally aspirated inline 6-cylinder engine add produced upwards of 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. This is the same motor found in the new 328i which was just put on a dyno and show to produce 240hp & 257tq at the wheels! You can read more on that here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=601206

In addition, the new X3 models will bring in more technology from the rest of the BMW line-up including Driver Assistance Package option (ZDA) (will include Lane Departure Warning) and the optional M Sport Package will come with 19" wheels. New standard equipment includes Auto Start Stop and Driving Dynamics Control with ECO PRO. In addition, the xDrive28i will now come standard with the power tailgate, 18" wheels and chrome tailpipes -- all while keep the prices at $37,995 for the xDrive28i and $43,595 for the xDrive35i.

The N20 motor keeps getting rave reviews on other cars -- is this new addition going to sway anyone to buy or NOT to buy a new X3?

Here is a list of stuff that the Cops can take your car in Ontario at their curb-side discretion:

• Racing – well OK
• Appearing to chase another vehicle – in who's opinion? oh ya the cop
• Driving fast (a rate of speed that is a marked departure from the lawful rate) – normally called speeding
• Changing lanes in close proximity to other vehicles – OK but generally drivers in Ontario don't give way to faster traffic creating conga-lines
• Front or rear wheelies on a bike – OK
• Donuts – OK
• Spinning the tires – OK, but really? Fun police!
• Driving with a person in the trunk – note to self when kidnapping!
• Driving when not sitting in the driver's seat – donno how one does this but OK
• Speeding 50km/h over limit
• Preventing another driver from passing – I actually like this one
• Slowing down to impede others – I like this one too but the cops will never enforce
• Tailgating – really….... the cops can take your car for this?

There are some exceptions basically to do with officially sanctioned events but my favorite is:motor vehicle owners engaged in a tour, scenic drive, treasure hunt or other similar motoring event in which the participants drive responsibly and in a manner that indicates an overall intention to comply with the provisions of the Act; or. Honest officer I was on a scenic drive I swear!

I'd talk to your dealer... it appears some markets get earlier production runs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtc100

Can we order the N20 X3 now?

This is an extract from a MT review of the 3 series with the N20

Quote:

I'll admit it: I didn't like the idea of a turbo-four in a BMW 3 Series. I know it has precedence and all that, but as someone who used to have a poster of an E46 M3 on my wall, to me the inline-six has always been synonymous with the 3 Series. And having driven the X1 with both the four and the six, I didn't think the four-cylinder engine was right for the 3 Series.

I was wrong.

BMW's inline-six is a fantastic engine, and part of what makes it fantastic is its ability -- nay, desire -- to rev to the moon. Wring one out and it will sing to redline and keep right on pulling until you hit the fuel cutoff and have no choice but to shift, even if it seems like the engine could just keep going. The new N20 four-cylinder doesn't do that. In fact, it pretty much falls flat around 6000 rpm, neither gaining or losing power on the rest of the climb to its 7000 rpm redline. To a purist, that's heresy.

Except that it's not. It doesn't ruin the 3 Series. In fact, the new 328i is a blast to drive in any trim, not just Sport. Lest you think that loping off two cylinders has neutered the 3, consider the numbers. Our eight-speed automatic-equipped tester blew through 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and ran down the quarter-mile in 14.2 seconds at 97.8 mph. BMW claims the turbo-four-powered 328i is actually quicker to 60 mph than the infallible E36 M3, which BMW pegs at a slow-by-today's-standards 6 seconds flat. For the record, the last E36 M3 we tested actually hit 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, but that doesn't make the new 328i any less impressive. What's more, the 328i actually pulls slightly higher g's around the skidpad than the E36 M3 at 0.90 g and 0.89 g, respectively. Not bad for the new entry-level car.

The 328i does other things the E36 M3 can't. For example, the 328i is rated at a seriously impressive 24 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. Cruising on the highway at 75-80 mph for 300 miles, our tester returned 30.6 mpg. On a hard-driving, canyon-carving, 150-mile test loop, it managed 16.8 mpg. Now take a look at the E36's numbers: 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway per the EPA, which you know would be out of reach for us lead-footed journalists. Check out the 2011 328i and you'll see it's only rated for 18 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. And it makes less power. Any way you cut it, this new 328i is some car.

What the numbers don't tell you is just how good it is to drive. There are more than a few cars out there that put down big numbers but aren't all that great to drive. The 328i achieves both. The new electro-hydraulic power steering system reduces vibrations in the wheel and with it some feedback, but still transmits more road information than most cars on the road today. Turn in, and the 328i leans on its optional electronically variable dampers and independent suspension just as you would expect it to. It doesn't flop over or roll in -- it just leans smoothly and quickly, planting its tires on the ground and delivering almost perfectly neutral handling. Really, you'd have to be either the world's worst driver or intentionally trying to upset the chassis to get this car out of sorts. Even with all the nannies fully off, it gives up just a bit of progressive understeer or oversteer, but nothing wild or unexpected. That certainly isn't due to a lack of power, because as we've established, this car has plenty of it and will happily roast the rear tires if you want.

Want to know the real kicker? Don't tell BMW, but the 328i is better than the 335i. I lapped both at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during BMW's launch event. We brought both home to test (you'll be seeing the 335i First Test soon), and we all agree. Yes, the 335i is a lot faster thanks to that turbo-six, but the 328i is the better car to drive. The four-cylinder car is 50 pounds lighter in the nose and the engine sits behind the front axle, making for a superb weight balance that the big-engine car just can't match. On the track and on the road, the 335i feels a bit more nose-heavy and a bit looser out back, with the rear end wanting to step out in turns, whereas the 328i is perfectly planted throughout. Sure, the 328i doesn't have the top end speed of the 335i, but it's more rewarding to drive fast. What's more, BMW's own driving instructors at the track confided that the lap times were nearly identical, with the 335i faster on the straights and the 328i faster through the corners.

Then there's the little stuff. The seats are a wonderful combination of comfort and sport. The extra space in both rows, courtesy of the wheelbase stretch, is noticeable and appreciated. The new dash is a fair sight better-looking, and even the base iDrive system sans nav looks like a little flatscreen TV on your dash. The iDrive system continues to improve and now has the ability to read your Facebook and Twitter feeds aloud and even send pre-written tweets and posts while driving. The steering wheel has gone on a bit of a diet and is a more pleasing size, not as chunky and oversized. The full-color head-up display is handy and appreciably hi-res. The car even has a proper hand brake.

That gas mileage and performance in the MT article on the 328 is exceptional! If they even come close to that in the 28i X3 than I am certainly going to take a long look at one -- even though I had absolutely no intention of getting an X3 again. Getting close to 35 mpg on the highway and in the high 20's in town is a game changer for me. Now that BMW has finally fixed the horrible ride over rough road problem -- and retained the superb handling -- this is a car that comes close to the hybrid (Highlander and RX450H) SUV mpg numbers as we approach and pass the $5.00 a gallon mark!

Good point! To get adequate performance a higher number is used, with the new turbo 4 we will see what BMW does to keep adequate performance and exceptional fuel economy. Personally I would love to see a RWD version of the X3 with the new engine, since I have no use for 4WD where I live and drive.

Would have NEVER bought the 2.8 if was 4-cyl powered. I cannot stand the noise.
As I have posted countless times, they are just noisy.
Even my dealer reports the new 528 is "nice, but you still know there is a 4-cyl up there, it is noisy"..his words, not mine.
I chose the Hemi in my car for the smoothness, not the power.
Regardless of power, that 4 popper is working ALOT harder to keep up with the smooth, fine six it is trying to replace.

Would have NEVER bought the 2.8 if was 4-cyl powered. I cannot stand the noise.
As I have posted countless times, they are just noisy.
Even my dealer reports the new 528 is "nice, but you still know there is a 4-cyl up there, it is noisy"..his words, not mine.
I chose the Hemi in my car for the smoothness, not the power.
Regardless of power, that 4 popper is working ALOT harder to keep up with the smooth, fine six it is trying to replace.

Hmm, sounds like no more new X3s (or BMWs) for you then. The trend seems to be towards turbo for BMW lately. Just curious, would the new X3 be more noisy then a Jeep? I probably wouldn't like something more noisy than my Altima and 2011 X3 I test drove was a lot quieter.